Transcript

A project to try and stop child labour, begging and trafficking in Papua New Guinea's Port Moresby is under way, with plans to shelter at risk children in safe homes.

The National Capital District Commission says the increased number of children living and working on the street is a growing concern for the city.

The NCDC Youth Desk Coordinator, Rex Buka, says they are working with partners like World Vision to conduct interviews with children, and carefully process them, and try to return them to their parents and schools.

He told Leilani Momoisea that those who genuinely need care and protection will be recommended to Safe Care Homes, but most children have homes to go to.

Rex Buka: They are not homeless, most of them have their parents. But they see some of their friends, they come and sell and earn some money and then go back to their community and they want to for them to earn quick money. So, they are involved in such activities.

Leilani Momoisea : There had some suggestion in local media I think that this was linked to the Pacific Games, trying to get children off the streets in time for the Pacific Games. Is that at all linked, or is this separate to that?

RB: This is not about Pacific Games. Pacific Games will come and go but this is the programme that, it's a long process that we will be taking. It's not about Pacific Games that we will get rid of them or chasing them away. We just want to increase the awareness on their rights. Their well being and their development has to be taken care of by the primary caregiver like their parents. So we want to increase the awareness on their rights, and reduce the number of children living and working on the street situation. We are just continuing to appeal to the parents, please take note and then make sure you look after your children, don't be careless, don't allow to be on the street.

LM: How will you go about the interview process, when you interview these children. Are you going to do that on the streets or will you detain them and take them somewhere else when you interview them?

RB: We will go to the sites where normally they come and aggregate. The actual thing that we've done around is we go set up a tent and stop whoever is continuing to do [these activities and ask] why are you still here? We want to interview them, be friendly to them, not to chase them, remove them. No, we just want to interview them. We already have a partner, the City Mission, we have a crisis centre safe home, so we will start to put them through. We want to create a friendly environment where we become friends with them, and establish contact where we continue to keep in touch with them and make referrals.

Rex Buka says under the Lukautim Pikinini, or Child Welfare, Act they are able to prosecute parents that are found to be negligent, as well as those who take advantage of child labour.